Theater | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh City Paper: The resume of Keith Hamilton Cobb includes a long list of stage, television, and writing credits, among others. Now Pittsburgh will get to see him in person during his latest production of American Moor. It's a work, which he wrote, as well as performs, that asks big questions about representation and racism in the theater industry.
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Despite having tickets to watch this show Sunday night, I had no knowledge of what the play was about before reading this article. To be fair (and in my defense) a friend bought the tickets for me after receiving an email sent across the entire School of Drama. Upon reading about what the show is about I can definitely say I am excited to watch this show Sunday night. I find it interesting to read about the play's central storyline- a man auditioning for a Shakespeare show, as an arch to explore the prevalent racial history and bias of America. And while that is a completely independent conversation, Shakespeare’s works (while a period of its time) lean on harmful/prejudicial stereotypes of individuals' identities. In other words, Shakespeare is the pinnacle of theatre (as some would call it) only when it comes to the stories of white society. So, choosing to explore the prevalent issue that is racism through a Shakespearean background is interesting, to say the least.
I am so excited to see this play this Saturday! Until reading this article, I had no clue that there was an accompanying art installation. I love seeing relevant and inventive Shakespeare adaptations, but this one puts a new spin on it. Instead of focusing on Othello himself, the play focuses on how one of Shakespeare’s few black characters is portrayed. Both the choices the director makes and the struggle the actor has to find their place in the Shakespearean canon are evaluated in American Moor. I’m interested to see how the meta-level will resonate to me, who has never read Othello. The CMU faculty director on the piece, the Shakespearean element, the social dialogue, and the fact that this will be the first show I’ve ever seen by Point Park University and the first show I’ve seen at the Pittsburgh Playhouse, all contribute to my anticipation and excitement to see this play.
I am even more excited to see “American Moor” this weekend after reading this article. I have not seen a show in a bit and was excited regardless. However, I find the gravity of Keith Hamilton Cobb’s work on “American Moor” to be really inspiring. I was struck by his thoughts on educating the future generation, describing his goal to be helping students realize the importance of “their own purpose-driven lives as artists”. I know his conversation is with Point Park students, but I would be really interested to hear him speak at CMU. He discusses “walking the walking”, and calls out trends of performative activism. I think it is very common for people to say that they intend on making theatre that makes a change, but what does that really mean to you and how are you accomplishing it? I think it would be amazing for my peers and I to learn from him and hear him speak.
I’m glad to see that this article says a priority of the production was to “engage Pittsburgh artists of color,” hopefully meaning that there were opportunities for people of color in both performance and production positions – something that is often overlooked at some theaters. Othello is a problematic play to undertake, and so I’m sure American Moor is a very compelling examination of that. While it is Shakespeare’s only play to feature a Black protagonist, it is full of harmful stereotypes and eventually transforms Othello into a villain, as he is manipulated by a white man (Iago). It’s refreshing to see new work that interrogates the play and tries to find a way to comment on it and turn the material of it into something that can be empowering. I would have been curious to see it if this article wasn’t from so long ago. It’s good to see Pittsburgh Playhouse pushing the norms of what is expected from Shakespeare.
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